TITLE: Palestine Media Watch Files Complaint Against the Washington Post

AUTHOR: Ahmed Bouzid

PUB: Palestine Media Watch

DATE: February 22, 2001

For immediate relase Wayne, PA (Feb. 22, 2001) -- Palestine Media Watch a grass-roots media watch group that monitors US media coverage of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau in Washington DC against the Washington Post, alleging "censorious practice" on the part of the Post "in barring opinion pieces voicing the Palestinian perspective on the Palestinian Israeli conflict from being published in its op-ed pages." Referring to reports published by Palestine Media Watch, the organization's president, Ahmed Bouzid, said: "The reports are truly disturbing since they show a clear pattern of not granting as much space to the Palestinian side as they do the pro-Israeli side. 83% of column space is granted to pro-Israeli columns, while only 11% of the space is given to pro-Palestinian columns. As a paying customer of the Washington Post all these years, I really feel betrayed and cheated." Citing the Washinton Post's published "Eugene Meyer's Principles for The Washington Post", Mr. Bouzid argued that the Post in the case of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has clearly violated some its own ethical and professional principles. Among other principles, the Post states: (1) "The newspaper's duty is to its readers and to the public at large, and not to the private interests of its owners"; (2) "In the pursuit of truth, the newspaper shall be prepared to make sacrifices of its material fortunes, if such a course be necessary for the public good; (3) "The newspaper shall not be the ally of any special interest, but shall be fair and free and wholesome in its outlook on public affairs and public men." "I think that the reports show clearly, " said Mr. Bouzid, "that the Post has violated at least some of these principles by practically allowing only ONE side of the story to be told. It is clearly aligning itself with a special interest, it is not really dedicated to the pursuit of truth, and it does not appear to hold the public good above all other considerations. I have spent literally thousands of dollars in purchasing copies of the Washington Post for more than two decades now and I feel in light of these reports as though I was betrayed all these years, thinking that I was getting my information from a fair-minded newspaper. I was wrong and I feel angry about it." Asked what redress he is seeking, Mr. Bouzid said: "I would like, first, to have the Post explain to its readers why the egregious imbalance. Why 83% of column space is allotted to pro-Israeli voices and only 11% to pro-Palestinian voices? Since the report came out I have asked the Washington Post for an explanation more than once, but I have been totally ignored. And second, I would like to see the Washington Post offer equal space to all sides of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. I want to hear from all sides, not just from one side. And I want to hear from all sides on an equal time basis. I am PAYING my hard earned money for the paper and I do not appreciate being given a shabby product." END top